Estrogen in humans is produced primarily in the ovary and acts as female hormone in the body. For example, 17β-estradiol, estrone, and estriol are known as estrogen.
Estrogen participates in various physiological functions such as the proliferation of uterine mucosa, regulation of a sexual function, regulation of hone metabolism, and regulation of lipid metabolism. When estrogen in the body fails along with aging and ovary dysfunction, this causes the occurrence of symptom such as a menopausal disorder, sexual dysfunction, autonomic imbalance, lipid metabolism disorder, vasomotor dysfunction, and osteoporosis.
Therefore, an attempt at hormone replacement therapy has been made to improve the above symptoms. However, it is not easy to externally administer an adequate dose of hormone drugs depending on these symptoms. Furthermore it is known that direct administration of estrogen or estrogen-like substances is accompanied by risks of various side effects such as breast cancer and uterine cancer. It is desired to develop a method for compensating estrogen deficiency in a mild and safe manner like inborn secretion of hormones.
Aromatase is an estrogen-synthesizing enzyme having the effect of converting androgen produced from cholesterol into estrogen (estradiol). Examples currently known to activate aromatase include vegetables selected from hydrangea tea, arnica, fennel, turmeric, corydalis tuber, Trillium apetalon, Scutellaria baicalensis, zedoary, yellow catalpa, immature orange, low bamboo (Kumazasa) schizonepeta spike, cassia seed, magnolia bark, evodia fruit, bupleurum root, Saisin (Brassica rapa var. utilis), Japanese pepper tree, cardamom, common mallow, Sinkyu (cnidium officinale), Angelica acutiloba. Kitag, tomato, Glehnia littoralis, atractylodes rhizome, dishcloth gourd, safflower, reedmace, lily, Japanese gentian, rosin, iris root, dead-nettle, Ononis spinosa, licorice, sophora root, grape fruit, cinnamon, Gentiana, Incense ware, condurango, salvia, hawthorn, dioscorea rhizome, bread, Acorus calamus, white birch, Japanese honeysuckle, Crataegus oxyacantha L., Achillea millefolium, mulberry root bark, thyme, cloves, citrus unshiu peel, spruce tree, tragacanth, Hamamelis japonica, bai zhi (Chinese name for angelica species Angelica dahurica), Butcher'S Broom, sinomenium stem, Imperatae Rhizoma, Ledebouriella seseloides, hop, ephedra herb, lavender, apple, lychee, lettuce, lemon, Roman chamomile, and burnet, extracts from these vegetables, yeast extracts, silk protein extracts, lactoprotein, trehalose, fermented soybeans extract, royal jelly, oryza oil, hydrolyzed wheat extract, shea butter, and fermented rice extract (Patent Documents 1 and 2).